


Day 8: Surprise Gifts

by WednesdayGilfillian



Category: Call the Midwife
Genre: 12 Days of Smutmas, Christmas Shopping, Domestic Fluff, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-19
Updated: 2020-12-19
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:29:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,302
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28167771
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WednesdayGilfillian/pseuds/WednesdayGilfillian
Summary: When a surprise from the children is in danger of being discovered, Shelagh takes it upon herself to...divert her husband's attention.
Relationships: Bernadette | Shelagh Turner/Patrick Turner
Comments: 14
Kudos: 24
Collections: Twelve Days of Turnadette Smutmas





	Day 8: Surprise Gifts

Shelagh tried not to tap her foot as she waited for Patrick to unlock the front door. His arms were full of parcels, and so his efforts were hampered. They had arranged for Granny Parker to mind the children for the afternoon. This allowed the two of them to do some Christmas shopping, away from too-observant eager eyes. That had been a good idea…but the trip had not gone especially well.

Shelagh remembered with slight nostalgia her younger self, in the early months of their marriage. She remembered with what trepidation she had dreaded their ‘first fight’, and feared that the slightest disagreement might turn everything sour. If only she had known then, how much they would survive…and also, that little frustrations were far from being the beginning of the end.

Because right now she _was_ irritated, but she knew that it would pass. They had bickered slightly going round the shops; she had been a little tense, he a little distracted. But then, she _knew_ that Patrick had no very strong opinions on children’s plastic tea sets, and was bound to have his thoughts elsewhere. Likewise, that _she_ was perhaps too inclined to buy Timothy what she’d _like_ him to want for Christmas, rather than what he actually did. Patrick had been right to correct her. Nothing was really wrong.

Even so, before she could truly calm down, she would need to have a cup of tea. She breathed a sigh as she set her shopping bags down on the hall floor.

That was the moment she noticed the way Timothy’s bedroom door was open. And the way a craft project was lying, unfinished, in plain sight on his floor. It looked like a joint effort between the siblings, judging by the varied levels of skill. The eldest boy had put down newspaper on his floor in a thoughtful attempt to prevent mess. However, in the excitement of Granny Parker’s arrival, he had clearly neglected to tidy the project away. The words “MERRY CHRISTMAS DAD” were plainly visible. Shelagh’s heart lurched.

Patrick was still distracted, setting down his own parcels. Her mind raced; trying frantically to anticipate which direction he would turn in, and where his eyes were likely to fall. Could she somehow shut Timothy’s door without Patrick noticing? But no, he was already turning to face her…

Shelagh did the only thing she could think to do, under the circumstances. She stepped forward, took his face in both hands, and kissed him.

“Mmph!”  
Patrick made a muffled noise of surprise against her lips. He soon relaxed into the kiss, however, hands coming to rest at her waist. And there was the problem. He’d turned it into a relaxed and soothing sort of kiss. Any second now he would pull away, and she’d have to distract him again. Oh, she’d think of something. She had to.

When Patrick _did_ draw back and smile curiously down at her, Shelagh knew that she was blushing. Not because kissing her husband was something she was shy about at this point, but because she’d been so sudden. _And_ because her motives were not exactly pure. She covered it by being brusque and pragmatic, and generally acting as though she hadn’t just thrown herself at him.

“You should take your coat off.”  
Patrick frowned, confused by the change of subject. “I was just about to.”  
“Here, let me help.”

Improvising wildly, she stepped closer again, reaching for Patrick’s lapels. Maybe it was something about the height difference between them…but somehow, the right thing to do seemed to be to kiss him again. And yes, she thought, as they stumbled a few paces, she could make this work. One hand gripping his coat, the other reaching blindly behind her for a doorknob…success! She pulled Timothy’s door shut. To put on a convincing show, she stumbled back against it, pulling Patrick flush against her.

They were both a little breathless when they broke the kiss, this time.  
“I hesitate to complain…” Patrick’s tone was slightly gravelly. “But you haven’t actually taken my coat off.”  
“I’m getting round to it!” she replied, sounding a bit defensive.

And if Shelagh sounded off-balance, she had her reasons. Technically the crisis was averted, and she’d done all she needed to. But her body hadn’t seemed to notice that this was purely a tactical exercise…

Besides, she had always preferred to finish anything she started.

And if she got him…well, undressed…then afterwards she could excuse herself and properly tidy away the children’s gift. At this point, she thought to herself, seducing her husband was really the only responsible course of action.

Shelagh reminded herself of that, as she slipped her hands beneath his coat to ease it from his shoulders. Patrick smiled, in a mystified sort of way, down at her. But when her hands lingered on his torso more than coat-removal required…she knew there was no denying that, really, she was doing this because she wanted to. Because she wanted _him_.

Strange that two minutes ago she’d had nothing on her mind but the shopping.

“Shelagh? What-”

He didn’t get another word out. And soon, the whole idea of asking questions seemed to drop down Patrick’s list of priorities.

After all, there was little room for confusion, given the heat of their kiss and the determined way Shelagh’s fingers were working at loosening his tie. Patrick made a low noise that sounded like surrender, and pulled her tight against him. Neither of them cared when, in response, her hands slipped from his half-loose tie to steady herself. They could deal with such minor details of clothing later. For now, it was much more important that Patrick had her close, and that she could feel the effect her sudden boldness was having.

They were of one mind, moving with some urgency in the direction of the bedroom. At the foot of the stairs, Patrick tore his mouth away long enough to stare down at her.  
“You know,” he managed, sounding slightly dazed, “sometimes I think I can read your moods…and then there are afternoons like this one.”  
At the bewildered, breathless wonder on his face, Shelagh felt slightly bad for deceiving him. But whatever her reasons for _beginning_ this, now the desire was real. She would make the little white lie up to him.

Before she could get around to that, however, Patrick seemed quite determined to make something up to her. His inattention on their shopping trip, perhaps? As they stumbled into their bedroom, Patrick locked the door behind them and backed her towards the bed decisively. Not forcefully, but with clear intent, he pressed her down onto her back, and Shelagh gasped; feeling the delicious give and take of control in these moments between them. More evenly give and take now, several years into their marriage. Patrick’s hands made quick work of her stockings, though his mouth took a less efficient path, kissing his way luxuriantly down.

Sometimes, in odd moments, it still felt faintly unreal that _she_ could elicit this kind of response. That this man’s desire-drunk stares and adoring whispers were for _her_. But if some corner of her mind still marvelled, every one of her senses told her that this was very, very real. And he was hers.

Afterwards, it was several lazy minutes before Shelagh remembered the task waiting for her downstairs. Surely she could stay a _little_ longer curled against Patrick’s side, and still have time before the children came home to hide their work-in-progress from him?

Shelagh surveyed the results of the past half hour. The tangled sheets, the bare limbs, the clothes haphazardly discarded… She would have to have a word with Timothy about being more careful as to where he left surprise gifts.

Maybe.

**Author's Note:**

> Happy holidays, everyone!


End file.
